The Department of the Interior
Big Bad Beast *The Department of the Interior (DoI) has been the arch-villian of the Liaden Universe since the first book -- Agent of Change -- was published about thirty years ago. *It's headquartered beneath Solcintra, Liad, in “the underground control center that would one day be the command post for a galaxy.”Carpe Diem, Liad *A vast, secret organization dedicated to the ascendancy of Liad, but to the destruction of Liad's clan-based, Delm-led system of authorityCarpe Diem, Trealla Fantrol (Access Grid 703) *They view Terrans as animals and things, using the pronoun "it" for themCarpe Diem *At least one member of the Liaden Council of Clans supports the DoI.I Dare Protocol Officer Her Nin yo'Vestra, Council of Clans, speaking to [[Kareen yos'Phelium]]: "There are a number of us -- members of another organization which also believes in the purity of Liaden ways." Daughter of Dragons *The DoI, and some Council members, hate [[The Scouts]] : **“There's always been a faction in the Council of Clans that wants to shut funding for the scouts off, or reduce it. Some of them don't want us doing anything that might benefit Terrans..."Breath’s Duty *The Department aims to destroy [[Clan Korval]]: **“"We have considered eliminating the current leader, Nova yos'Galan. The house is tainted with Terran blood”Carpe Diem, Liad **“The Plan encompassed the breaking of Korval. Break Korval and Liad wavered."Ghost Ship, chapter 9 *The DoI utilizes forbidden Old Tech, so [[The Uncle]] and his associates hide.Ghost Ship, chapter 11 *The DoI hunts down self-aware ships and other [[Independent Logics]] like [[Bechimo]]Ghost Ship and Dragon Ship Origins of DoI *There’s only speculation on The Department's origins, but it's been active for decades, possibly centuries: **Commander Bar Vad yo'Tornier: “Korval must fall. They had almost been eliminated twice now. The Commander blinked. This time, perhaps. On his watch.”Plan B, Liad / chapter 1 ***what were the first two attempts to destroy Korval? The bullet Aelliana took for Daav? Maybe the DoI murdered Delm Chi and Sae Zar, and attempted to kill Petrella? Maybe the Department incited “The Clan Wars” two centuries ago, which sorely weakened the clan.Space at Tinsori Light : **Commander yo'Tornier recalls an exercise he was taught '''years ago''' as an Agent-in-training. (Decades ago, probably.) Thus, the Department is not a newly hatched horror, and this Commander is clearly not the first Big Bad. I Dare, Day 52, Standard Year 1393, Department of Interior Command Headquarters, Liad *There is a strong likelihood that all Commanders of Agents are only mental copies (downloads) of some long-gone original goon: **Becoming Commander of Agents sen'Ager: "twelve dozen wires pierced her skull and sunk, burning, into her brain" **The wires-into-brain tech are also be used by the [[Lyre Institute]] (see ''Strings, Strands, and Vines in Motion'' at [[http://www.splinteruniverse.com Splinter Universe]] *"This room -- that chair -- downloads....the Commander of Agents"Dragon in Exile, Interlude Eight Access Grid 703 '''The Department of Interior's Mission Statement:''' "Allegiance to a single clan is addiction to an outdated and life-threatening philosophy...Terra seeks to overpower and annihilate us....Several clans have allowed Liaden blood to become diluted and have granted these half-breeds full rights...It is the part of the intelligent person to forswear allegiance to clan, and instead to ally himself with Liad, through this department. It is the prime objective of this department to establish the supremacy of Liad and true Liadens."Carpe Diem, Trealla Fantrol (Access Grid 703) DoI's Adjusted Plan After Korval took out DoI HQ on Liad (see ''I Dare'') the new Commander of Agents, Iridyce sen'Ager, formed a new plan, with three prongs: 1. "Prevent Korval from building a position of strength at its new base, Surebleak, while harrying those of, and those affiliated with, Korval, whenever and wherever they were encountered." 2. "Strengthen the Department...Purchase allies." *It seems likely that the FTC (Federated Trade Commision) has sold out to the DoI.Ghost Ship, chapter 17 3. "Renew and intensify the search for operating Old Technology. Secondary Headquarters must be well defended. Impregnable." "The damned Scouts...[[The Scouts]] would be answered, and fully. As Korval would be answered. And, it would seem, the [[Juntavas]], profit-driven no longer, and allied to Korval through marriage."Ghost Ship, chapter 18 Making an Agent of Change Spies, assassins, and agent provocateurs / political manipulators *The DoI steals Liadens, including [[The Scouts|scouts]] thought eklykt’i, and twists them into mindless "agents of change” or support technicians, etc. *also steal pilots from Low Port in Liad (supposition, based on text)Mouse & Dragon, chapter 33 *also kidnaps off-world Liadens like [[Rys]] Lin pen'Chala Necessity's Child, chapter 33 *The DoI brain-wipes them: **"It was thought that, instead of impersonating someone, an agent could become that person ... This could be accomplished by smoothing out the agent's own personality and overlaying a second... When the mission was done, the second personality would be removed and the agent allowed to emerge....It didn't work out very well. The only thing the machine did was eradicate, totally, the prime personality....The person was gone, irretrievably, though the body might live on to a very old age."Agent of Change, chapter 20 *A dramliza may be part of the brain-wipe process: **"Once the proto-agent is in a malleable state -- confused, in pain, and frightened -- someone with the necessary skill binds them to an...an alternate reality...To a lie...I very much fear that this someone must be one of the dramliz, though I cannot deduce whether she was herself corrupted, or came willing to the work."Dragon in Exile, chapter 11 *Agents also treated by specialists in biomed and exotic pharmaceuticalsCarpe Diem, Liad *The Department's best agents -- including Scout Commander [[Val Con yos'Phelium]] -- are wired with a probability loop in the head.Agent of Change, Carpe Diem *If an agent suddenly regains his true mind and memory, or if capture seems certain, death follows: "She accepted the Loop's Final Routine, suiciding to avoid capture."I Dare, Day 51 *The DoI equips their agents with scout-class ships, credit cards, an electronic picklock, explosives, and other assassin's tools (pins, blades, garrots, doodads, wire, poisons, little pillows of acid), etc.Agent of Change, chapter 17-18 Timeline of Attacks Some of this is marked "supposition" but it's based on text. *Supposition -- DoI at work: When pilots disappear from Low Port in Liad, Delm Korval [[Chi yos'Phelium]] sends [[Daav yos'Phelium]] to investigate, with help from [[Juntavas]] boss Clarence O'Berin. For some time afterwards, it seems that the kidnapping has stopped, even though they never found the villain.(See The Beggar King in [[The Books (and other stories)]]) *Then [[Chi yos'Phelium]] and Sae Zar yos'Galan are murdered, possibly by the Department: **“Actions reducing the leadership of Korval have occurred in the past.”Carpe Diem, Liad (The DoI Commander may have been referring to Anne Davis and/or Chi) *1360: In his quest for destroying the evidence linking Liaden language to Terran (evidence of a common mother tongue, which had given birth to to its disparate, triplet childern: Liaden, Terran, Yxtrang) Fil tor Kinrea, Linguistic Technician, Student of Advanced Studies, Local Custom, chapter 29 maybe with the help of other DOI agents instigated the destruction of the Language Department on University Local Custom, chapter 36, murderd Jin Del yo'Kera, Clan Yedon, Learned Doctor and Scholar Specialist in the field of Galactic Linguistics, of the Solcintra UniversityLocal Custom, chapter 26, and kidnapped as well as threatened [[Anne Davis]] and her little son [[Shan yos'Galan|Shan]].Local Custom, chapter 36 (Supposition because Fil tor Kinrea frightens Shan - he has no sparkles) *The problem in the Low Port starts up again, and drifts up to the Mid Port So, Daav investigates again, but to no avail, nearly dying in the course of the investigation, as he "had a bounty on his head"Mouse & Dragon, chapter 34 **Suppose the DoI was responsible, stipulating that the DoI is the "Someone who is trying to set themselves up as boss" of the Low PortMouse & Dragon, chapter 35 *About eight years pass: “Things had changed: The ports had grown chancier; Terran ports, if one were Liaden, chancier still. Ride the Luck carried weapons now...The Low Port pushed at its limits, reaching stealthy fingers out toward Mid Port's plump pockets, to the point that the Portmaster fielded more proctors, and the Pilots Guild offered warnings to those newly arrived, on a street-by-street basis.”Mouse & Dragon, chapter 37 *[[Aelliana]] takes a bullet for [[Daav]]Mouse & Dragon, chapter 37 after 8 years of marriage.Neogenesis The Department incited the Terran shooter. "Daav to Val Con: "since the assassin—say, rather, the one who had employed the assassin—so earnestly wished me to look to Terra for my villain, I could scarcely do less than accommodate him....Aelliana would never have wanted me to start a war in her name—even had it been absolutely certain that her death was called by Terra. Which it was by no means." I Dare, Day 50, SY1393, Lytaxin, Erob's Clanhouse and Gardens *About ten years pass. [[Anne Davis]] dies while [[Val Con]] is off with [[The Scouts]]. She was killed by racist Terrans, but they were manipulated by the DoI: "Clonak, my father wishes to know the name of Korval’s great enemy, that murdered his brother and his brother’s lifemate. You can tell him that, can’t you?” The older scout tipped his head. “Already did, but I don’t mind repeating it: Department of the Interior." I Dare, Day 50, SY1393, Lytaxin, Erob's Clanhouse and Gardens **[[Er Thom yos'Galan]] dies a year later, of heartbreak caused by DoI assassin.I Dare, Day 50, SY1393, Lytaxin, Erob's House *The DoI subverts Scout Commander [[Val Con yos'Phelium]], making him an agent of change.Agent of Change Scout Commander [[Clonak]] ter'Meulen "fed" him to the Department, to defeat the enemy from within. "Who better?"I Dare, Day 50, SY1393, Lytaxin, Erob's Clanhouse and Gardens **Indeed, Val Con wins free after "more than three years" detached duty with the DoICarpe Diem, Liad: Solcintra ***Note: “Val Con yos'Phelium's recruitment as an Agent was a five-year program”Carpe Diem, Liad *The DoI incites a civil war on Lytaxin, to break Korval’s oldest ally, [[Clan Erob]]: “The various actions against Korval, including fomenting revolution on the world of Korval’s oldest trade partner, were necessary to reduce Korval’s influence and bring about the true ascendancy of Liad.”Plan B, Liad / chapter 1 **Val Con: “The odds that the Department of the Interior was instrumental in engineering the domestic dispute which preceded the Yxtrang invasion borders on certainty. Erob became a target because of its ties with Korval. They will try again.”I Dare, Day 51, SY1393, Lytaxin: Erob’s Clanhouse **Kea Tiazan, the Erob pilot intended for contract marrige to yos'Phelium, shot by Clan Kenso in the revolt Plan B, Liad / chapter 4, the DOI Commander about Korval's old ally and sometimes bedmate "More, there was rumor that one string, not yet strung to the bow of the alliance was now gone."Plan B, Liad / chapter 4 *The DoI attacks Scout HQ at Nev'Lorn (see [[Breath's Duty]]). *Delm Korval puts Plan B into effect (SY1392): **“Korval became aware of the Department. And, being Korval, measures—bold measures—had been taken. The Department found its name spoken in public places; long-stable funding sources came under scrutiny, several dummy accounts were unmasked and summarily closed by the Masters of the Accountants Guild, the funds returned to the Council of Clans....The clan vanished — ships, children, servants, and pets — all, all gone from Liad. Not quite all.”Plan B, Liad (ch 1) *The DoI sent [[Kareen yos'Phelium]]'s oldest friend / lover -- Protocol Officer Her Nin yo'Vestra, Council of Clans -- to subvert her at home, before she (finally) left Liad, as Plan B dictated. "He attempted to bribe me to overthrow the Line Direct in favor of my heir!" (see [[Daughter of Dragons]]) *Agents try luring [[Pat Rin]] with Korval’s delmship (ring): “All your kin are dead" but he's got [[Cheever McFarland]] and [[Inas Bhar]] "Natesa the Assassi" at his back I Dare, Teriste *DoI sends agents to Lytaxin, to kill/capture Val Con, but they fail. They do wound [[Daav yos'Phelium]] / Aelliana I Dare, Day 50, SY1393, Lytaxin, Erob's Clanhouse and Gardens, I Dare, Day 51, SY 1393, Lytaxin, Erob's Grounds, who had just been seen and reunited with the HouseI Dare, Day 50, SY1393, Lytaxin, Erob's House *DoI ships are seen shadowing ships into Surebleak space.I Day, Day 44, SY1393, Surebleak *So Pat Rin obtains eight ships — for [[Surebleak]]’s planetary defense net — from Korval shipstacks in the Sherzer System, including asteroid miners in remarkably good repair marked “reserved”I Dare, Day 45, SY1393, Sherzer System *DoI ships fire on [[Pat Rin]]’s ship, Fortunes Reward, in Surebleak space. Piloting, Pat Rin fires back, destroying one ship.I Dare, Day 47, SY1393, Surebleak Space *DoI captures Mr. dea’Gauss at the Accountant’s Guild, but he manages to follow [[Chi yos'Phelium]]’s defense protocols, presaged decades ago.I Dare, ch 44 *DoI attempts to capture [[Anthora]] with dramliz box at Council of Clans meetingI Dare, ch 49 *[[Clan Korval]] /“Tree and Dragon” destroys DoI headquarters on Liad, charging them with kin stealing, murder, etc. Korval strikes Solcintra from space to destroy Old Tech planetary murder machines. Backup provided by [[The Scouts]], the [[Clutch Turtles]], the [[Juntavas]], and [[The Mercs]].I Dare **But some Scouts disagree with Korval, causing a schism (see [[The Scouts]]). **Some council members judge there was no DoI, and no just cause for Korval to attack. They banish [[Clan Korval]] from Liad. *Korval moves to [[Surebleak]]. Commander of Agents sen'Ager sends agents (including Field Agent [[Rys]] Lin pel'Chala) to kill the Delmae: "If the Department wished to rid itself of this impediment to the Plan, then it must strike while Korval was most vulnerable." *After the Department's strike at [[Jelaza Kazone]] failed, the Commander pulls all her agents off [[Surebleak]] because they lost the element of surprise.Ghost Ship, chapter 35 *But two agents stay on Surebleak to blow up the new schoolNecessity’s Child *DoI agents try to subvert Val Con's friends Hakan and Kemmie on planet Vandar (see [[Prodigal Son]]) *The Department attempts to destroy Korval's reputation as Tree-and-Dragon Trading Company, in some places successfullyAlliance of Equals *The Department attempts to kidnap or kill [[Theo Waitley]], daughter of [[Daav yos'Phelium]], and to steal or destroy her self-aware ship [[Bechimo]].Ghost Ship, chapter 18 *DoI assassins attempt to end [[Daav yos'Phelium]], off-world, at pod 78, but [[The Uncle]]...Ghost Ship, epilogue *Agent Dramliz Tarona Rusk attempts to capture or kill [[Shan]] and [[Padi]] and to destroy Dutiful Passage, but she fails and Shan frees her mind. Alliance of Equals, chapters 34-35 The Fight Goes Forward *The previous DoI Commander theorized: “Were Korval to abandon Liad and accept sanctuary from Terra, the balance long in favor of Liaden trade missions and Liaden expansion would be at risk. The children of yos’Galan were half-Terran.”Plan B, Liad / chapter 1 **“But the FTC (Federated Trade Commision) is probably allied with the DoI.Ghost Ship, chapter 17 *“According to the Scouts, the new commander of agents had set about recruiting more operatives.”Neogenesis *[[Rys]] Lin pen'Chala is leading a mission against the heart of the Department, with four freed agents: Vazineth ser'Trishan, Sye Mon van'Kie, Claidyne ven'Orikle, and Bon Vit Onida **"They were away, the five champions the Luck had selected to bring an end to Korval's...most recent...enemy, and his part -- uncharacteristic for Korval -- to sit in plain sight, and do nothing."Dragon in Exile, chapter 37 *The [[Juntavas]] anti-Department position: ““New Juntavas policy, straight from Chairman Reallan: whenever the Juntavas meets with operatives of the Department of the Interior, we’re taking them out. They’re no good for anybody’s business.”Dragon in Exile ch 25 *Freed DoI dramliz Tarona Rusk is off to loose her wrath on the DoI: "I have no need of Korval's protections. I have key and codes, and knowledge, and I mean to use them well...I thank you for the gift of my life, and the opportunity to achieve Balance within it."Alliance of Equals, chapter 35 *And now young Padi has accepted her inner dragon Korval’s Dead Deaths attributed to the Department: *[[Chi yos'Phelium]], Korval herself Mouse & Dragon, chapter 39. (Speculation) *Sae Zar yos'Galan, brother to [[Er Thom yos'Galan]], while protecting Chi (speculation) *[[Petrella yos'Galan]], eventually, from radiation poisoning, by DoI agents who killed Chi and Sae ZarLocal Custom(Speculation) *[[Anne Davis]] -- The DoI manipulated fascist Terrans I Dare, Day 50, SY1393, Lytaxin, Erob's Clanhouse and Gardens *[[Er Thom yos'Galan]] -- died within a year of his lifemate Anne, due to heartbreakI Dare, Day 50, SY1393, Lytaxin, Erob's House *[[Aelliana Caylon]] -- Mouse & Dragon, chapter 37, Doil manipulated the Terran shooter. I Dare, Day 50, SY1393, Lytaxin, Erob's Clanhouse and Gardens *[[Daav yos'Phelium]], attacked by DoI assassins, thought dead at pod 78: "left arm nearly severed, blood sheeting his face".Ghost Ship, epilogue *Jen Sin yos'Phelium -- supposition, as the DoI may have instigated the Clan Wars that put Jen Sin in so much danger, about two centuries ago (see [[Tinsori Light]]) *Numerous deaths to Korval's allies on Lytaxin, as the DoI instigated the civil war that ended before [[Val Con yos'Phelium]] brought Miri to meet her kin.Plan B, Liad / chapter 1, I Dare, Day 51, SY1393, Lytaxin: Erob’s Clanhouse DoI Commanders *Commander of Agents Bar Vad yo'Tornier, Solcintra -- deadI Dare *Commander of Agents Iridyce sen'Ager -- still alive? Promoted from Fourth Commander position when superiors died Ghost Ship, chapter 4 DoI Agents Incomplete list *�� Free, won free from DoI control *Agent lar'Adrin -- (first name ?) -- bought [[Rys]] Lin pen'Chala from Jasin's brother, off ''Momma Liberty'', fate unknown *Agent ter'Fendil -- (first name ?) -- used his Scout training to find OLD TECH for DoI. Captured by [[Val Con yos'Phelium]] and [[Anthora yos'Galan]]. Last seen alive, his fate is unclear I Dare *Beldyn chel'Mara Clan Aragon -- dead by suicide. She'd been a scout once.I Dare, Day 51, SY 1393, Lytaxin, Erob's Grounds Was she sister to the chel'Mara gambler who lost Ride the Luck to Aelliana? *��Bon Vit Onida -- now free, with coordinates to DoI's Secondary Headquarters. He gladly lost three decades to remove dark seed in his soul *��Claidyne ven'Orikle -- DoI Director, now free, with twin souls (schizophrenic? lifemate?). She has the location of the quaternary transfer point and the entry codes, to replace the current Comander of Agents with a freed agent, to shut everything down Dragon in Exile, interlude eight *Her Nin yo'Vestra -- [[Kareen yos'Phelium]]'s oldest friend, Protocol Officer for Council of Clans, appointed to the League for the Purity of Language. Dead. *Isphet bar'Obin -- dead, gunshot to the chest, by a youthNecesity's Child, chapter 37 *Kar Min pel'Mather -- chose to die, gratefully Dragon in Exile *Karin pel'Nara / Zhena Pelnara -- (see [[Prodigal Son]]) *Melsilee bar'Abit --senior field agent, dead by Val Con in self-defenseDragon in Exile, chapter 1 *Osa pel'Naria -- with two other agents (maybe pin'Eport and yos'Vinder) she attempted to kill or capture [[Theo Waitley]] and Arin's Toss on TokeoportGhost Ship, chapters 16-17 *Operative pin'Eport -- (first name not found) -- hunted Theo (Arin's Toss) and The Uncle's Smalltader on GondolaGhost Ship, chapters 10-11 *��Rys Lin pen'Chala -- Senior Field Agent sent to destroy Korval on [[Surebleak]]Necessity's Child, chapter 2, now free, a member of [[The Bedel]] and foster-brother to [[Val Con yos'Phelium]]Necessity's Child, epilogue *��Sye Mon van'Kie -- now free. He has the recall codes for the old machines that have been deployeda *��Tarona Rusk -- a dramliz controlling dozens of dramliz. Tried to capture [[Shan yos'Galan]], who set her fre.Alliance of Equals, chapter 34 *Operative Tir Sha yos'Vinder -- hunted Theo (Arin's Toss) and [[The Uncle]]'s Smalltrader on GondolaGhost Ship, chapters 10-11 *Tyl Von sig'Alda Clan Rugare -- dead on planet Vandar by Loop-icide. Had been a pilot-for-hire.Carpe Diem, Vandar: Winterfair *��[[Val Con yos'Phelium]] -- Senior Field Agent. Now free. Was handpicked from [[The Scouts]]. *��Vazineth ser'Trishan -- now free, by [[The Bedel]]'s dream [[Rys]] made. Joined Rys's mission, along with Sye Mon van'Kie, Claidyne ven'Orikle, and Bon Vit Onida Dragon in Exile, chapter 31 **"They were away, the five champions the Luck had selected to bring an end to Korval's...most recent...enemy, and his part -- uncharacteristic for Korval -- to sit in plain sight, and do nothing."Dragon in Exile, chapter 37 References